This week-end was food epic! I had so many recipes in mind that two days wouldn’t have been enough to try all of them, and that my belly wouldn’t have been able to receive everything. But something was sure: I did need a big original burger. Not a revisited version, with alternative food and creative ingredients, just a traditional burger, simple, efficient, with its pickle slice and cheddar sauce. But when I make a burger, I like to do things right, and it includes making my own buns. Indeed, I think that the bun is a key element in a burger: it can make the difference and turn your burger light and awesome or really heavy. I am often disappointed by the buns you can find on sale, they are often taste less, or with a crumbly weak texture and look… industrial. 

But the issue is that I am also often disappointed with my homemade buns! Indeed, half the time, the dough doesn’t raise and I end up with flat heavy breads. First, I though it was because of the flours I used, because I have the habit of using alternative flours and not necessarily recommended for bread making. But I finally understood that the responsible was the yeast. Indeed, I used to buy regular industrial dry yeast because it is the most popular, easy to find, practical and used in the recipes. But most of the time, this yeast is dead and doesn’t activate if not in the good conditions. So this time, as I really really wanted my burger, I tried fresh yeast that I bought in my local bakery. And guess what? It works! 

EASY BURGER BUNS

Prep time: 15 minutes
Raising time: 3 hours
Baking time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1h30 minutes
Serves: 2 big buns

INGREDIENTS:

– 12g fresh baking yeast
– 100 ml lukewarm water
– 40 ml lukewarm soy milk
– 150g whole wheat flour
– 100g spelt flour
– 1 tbsp coconut sugar
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 1 pinch of salt
– sesam seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a big bowl (or the bowl of your food processor), mix the flours with the crumble baking yeast, sugar and salt.
2. Add the lukewarm water and soy milk and mix well, either with a food processor or with your hands until you obtain a dough.
3. Add the oil and knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. The dough might be smooth: if the dough is too dry, add a little bit of oil; if to wet, add some flour.
4. Form a ball with the dough and place in a bowl covered with a clean cloth and put in a warm place (about 25°C, a preheated oven works well) for at least 2 hours (the longer the best).
5. Once the dough has raised, briefly knead again on a floured surface and form two balls. But the balls on a plate, cover with cloth and let raise again for about 1 hour in a warm place.
6. Finally, brush the buns with soy milk and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.
7. Bake the buns for 15 minutes at 350F.